Commission must measure all consequences of Farm to Fork

The EPP Group regrets that in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission is pushing for deep changes to the EU's food production policy and calls for a thorough impact assessment before starting any reforms.

“We regret that the European Commission is hurrying its Farm to Fork strategy now when farmers all over Europe are facing huge insecurity over their future”, said Herbert Dorfmann MEP, EPP Group Spokesman in the European Parliament's (EP) Agriculture and Rural Development Committee.

The European Commission is expected to present the Farm to Fork strategy today, which is the agriculture and food part of the so-called Green Deal, the EU's flagship initiative for an ecological transformation of Europe's economy. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, the EPP Group and the EP Agriculture Committee have asked the Commission to postpone the strategy.

“The least the Commission must do now is a thorough impact assessment of the legislative proposals that will follow the strategy, including the economic impact. The Commission must measure all consequences of the Farm to Fork strategy”, demanded Dorfmann.

“The differences in farming conditions across Europe are huge and many farmers already work in a very sustainable way. When the Commission later drafts the legislative proposals, it needs to remember that one size does not fit all. The measures must be well considered and targeted to improve our food security”, concluded Dorfmann.